1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to display or promotional packages containing compressed fabric articles, particularly fabric articles such as garments and utility articles such as towels which are compressed into various shapes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For the past several years there has been a growing market for compressed fabric articles for use as promotional items, souvenirs, gifts, commemorative items and the like. Typically the fabric item is a garment or a simple sheet of fabric. By far the most common are tee shirts, but other garments (xe2x80x9cwearablesxe2x80x9d) such as scarves or utility items such as towels or banners are possible or can be used. The tee shirts or other items are also commonly decorated or imprinted with a logo or wording. The fabric item may be compressed into a simple three-dimensional geometrical shape, such as a cube, ellipsoid or cylinder, but commonly it is compressed into a shape which has the general outline of a familiar object, such as a star, a car or boat, a bottle or a hand tool. The compressed article in the desired shape is wrapped into a package while in its compressed state, and once distributed for instance as a promotional item, can be unwrapped by the recipient, decompressed and opened out to its original configuration as the real shirt, towel, etc. that is. The recipient therefore sees and enjoys the unique compressed shape of the original package, recognizes the advertising or other message intended by the vendor for the compressed package, and then after opening the packaging also obtains the benefit of having a usable garment, towel or other useful fabric product.
As will be recognized, since fabric cannot be formed into a body having particularly sharp corners, and since many common items have detailed and complex shapes, the compressed package merely simulates the overall outline of the familiar object. It is common for vendors to place a flat sheet insert having a picture of the familiar object adjacent to one or more outer surfaces of the compressed fabric article, so that when the compressed fabric article is covered by a transparent package wrapping the picture will be visible through the wrapping and reinforce the recipient""s recognition of the shape or object that the compressed fabric article is intended to represent.
It is also known for such compressed fabric articles to have other objects, usually of a similar shape, included in the same package, so that the recipient of the packaged article received not only the fabric shirt, towel, etc., but also another promotional item at the same time. Such included items are commonly flat and are placed on the flat surface of the fabric article. These items may include money, CDs, video or audio cassettes. Such items are of course packaged with the compressed fabric article after compression of the latter has been completed.
Typical examples of compressed fabric articles of the types described above, both with and without sheet inserts or other promotional items included in their packaging, are found in my previously issued design patents, including but not limited to those articles shown in U.S. Design Pat. Nos. D-411,799 (Jul. 6, 1999), D-432,931 (May 2, 2000); D-431,185 (Sep. 26, 2000); D-431,186 (Sep. 26, 2000); D-431,187 (Sep. 26, 2000); D-431,456 (Oct. 3, 2000); D-431,773 (Oct. 10, 2000); and D-431,774 (Oct. 10, 2000).
Heretofore, however, it has never been considered that shapes, graphics, pictures or other indicia could be incorporated into a compressed fabric in any manner other than by means of the general outer shape of the compressed package or by means of a preprinted insert sheet. No vendor or compressed fabric products has heretofore disclosed or suggested any manner in which the fabric item itselfxe2x80x94i.e., the shirt, towel, etc.xe2x80x94could have a hole containing an object.
I have now developed a promotional or display package with a compressed fabric body having a hole to store an object. The hole is generally located in the center of the compressed fabric article, but may also be located towards one particular side of the fabric article. Typically the object has substantially the same shape as the hole and may or may not protrude above the surface of the fabric body. A transparent or opaque wrapping is placed around the package so the object is maintained. The package continues to retain its shape until the recipient of the package opens it, removes the object and opens up the fabric body to expose its true shirt, towel, etc. nature. The hole does not harm the surface of the fabric body in any manner, and the fabric body will return to its original shape once the recipient has removed the package wrapping and opened out the fabric body.
The original fabric body may be of any compressible fabric material, such as a woven or felted fabric. The most preferred fabric is cotton, which is inexpensive, readily resumes its shape and eliminates creases and wrinkles after opening. However, it is also contemplated that other natural, synthetic, metallic, etc. fabrics may also be used, individually or in blends. For instance, blends of cotton with synthetic fibers, such as polyester fiber, are contemplated. Fabrics may be woven, felted or otherwise formed by conventional methods. The critical requirement is that the fabric chosen must be sufficiently flexible to be able to be highly compressed into a small package with (usually) an irregular shape without adverse effects to the overall fabric or the individual fibers from which it is made. Other properties, such as cost or ability to eliminate wrinkles and creases after opening, may be important or not in the view of individual users of the products. While it will thus be recognized that there are many suitable fabrics, for brevity herein the invention will be exemplified in its most common embodiment, i.e., as a cotton fabric product, namely a tee shirt.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, one compresses a fabric article by known methods in the art in the shape of a familiar object. For example, in the Figures of this application, the compressed fabric article is illustrated as formed into the outline of a golf green, a key and a heart. The compressed fabric article contains a hole for storing an object. Such compression of the fabric article is well known and need not be described further. A flat sheet insert containing a picture of the familiar object may or may not be placed on the compressed fabric article. The flat sheet inserts contains a opening to reveal the hole located in the fabric article. An object is then inserted into the hole and the fabric article is wrapped in a transparent wrapping to create the promotional package. Therefore, in the preferred embodiment, the invention involves a compressed fabric article containing a hole. In yet another preferred embodiment, also illustrated in the Figures, the shape of the inserted object conforms to the shape of the hole.